Mother's Day
by Cherry-Blossom-Love
Summary: One encounter was all it took, one fifteen minute encounter with a sad little child. Set prior to events of Phantom Planet. One-shot


**A/N: Yes I know people are going to be upset with me for working on a one-shot while I have 'Arachnophobia' in the works… but if I don't take a break from that story to work on other ideas… I'll go nuts. Those of you who know me probably just scoffed at that, and said it was too late anyway.**

**This is a late mothers day tribute but it came to me in the middle of the night and I **_**had **_**to do it.**

**Summary: Maddie Fenton learns that there is more to ghosts than meets the eye, and she does so the hard way.**

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It was early Sunday morning when the alarms went off. Jack fell out of bed with a loud crash, while his significant other leapt up with the grace of a warrior. Her machete had appeared in her hand as if by magic, and those who knew her -or the Fentons for that matter- knew better than to question where it had come from.

She didn't wait for Jack to untangle himself from the blankets to rush outdoors –of course she grabbed her bazooka on the way- and aimed her weapon at the girl that stood in the middle of the road. She'd have almost thought the child was human had she not been floating three feet off the ground. "By the power vested in me by Amity Park, I herby sentence you back from whence you came!"

The girl seemed to hear her, as she spun around and raised her hands defensively. "No…wait!"

The desperation in the girl's tone almost made her falter, but she didn't. Nonetheless she did not yet pull the trigger; that wasn't to say she took her finger off of it though. Listening to a ghost would be preposterous and likely to spell certain mayhem. She'd never listened to that phantom child and she wasn't going to start for this girl.

"Please… please, I'm not doing anything wrong. I just…" the girl hung her head sadly. "I just wanted to see her again…"

Curiosity got the better of her, and Maddie simply _had_ to ask. "Who, Ghost? Who is your target?"

Lip jutted out in a pout that revealed just how much a child she was, the girl stomped her foot and further proved her age. Her eyes flashed green, and Maddie did not miss it; she tightened the grip she had on her bazooka. "I'm _not_ targeting anyone!"

"Watch your temper Ghost, I don't show much patience for your kind." The sad look the girl gave her almost made her feel bad. Almost.

"…Cause I'm a ghost right? Is that why you hate me?"

Maddie blinked. She didn't really hate ghosts, and neither did Jack. Speaking of whom, she wondered where he was at that point; it had never taken him _that_ long to untangle himself. Regardless, she went back to business and frowned at the child. "Who is your target Ghost? I won't ask again."

"I'm _not_ targeting anyone! I just wanted to see my momma!"

Visible tears streamed down her face, and glowing green eyes bore straight into Maddie's soul. The pain that was there, the longing and sincerity, it was all real. Her hand dropped the bazooka she'd been aiming at the girl to cover her mouth. She'd never taken such things into account, and it shook her. As a mother it made her nearly cry out in sympathy for the child who stood before her sobbing her heart out.

It may have been the fact that she was a mother, or it may have been that she was foolish, but Maddie set down her weapons and walked over to the sobbing child. In a swift movement that startled the distracted girl, one of the world's best ghost hunters tugged a small ghost child into her arms with a soft shushing sound. She stroked the girl's hair the way she had once done for Jazz and Danny and inwardly she found herself missing those days once more.

Even she, as a ghost hunter, could not fault the spirit of a small child for missing her mother. Especially not on this day. Once the sobs had died down to sniffles Maddie looked down at the girl. "Better?"

"..why do you hate Ghosts? Some…some of them are mean b-but most.. most of us just want to be left alone…"

Maddie could not answer, and it left a hollow worrisome sensation in her stomach. Hearing such words from the small ghost child's lips made her question what founded her hostility towards ghosts. It gave her an ill feeling to the pit of her stomach to think she may have brought harm, even destruction, to the innocent ones.

_How many times had Phantom pleaded with them to listen?_

"You don't know why…do you?"

Out of the mouths of babes, Maddie supposed. Still, she did not say a word and only resumed stroking the girl's hair. After a long moment of silence she had to ask, "Whats your name dear?"

She was much softer than the fierce and volatile ghost hunter she'd been mere moments ago, and the girl seemed to notice for she instantly cuddled up into her arms.

"I'm…I can't remember clearly… I only remember my momma and… I think she called me Clara…" after a moment the child dubbed 'Clara' had adopted a thoughtful look before gazing up at Maddie curiously. "Are you a momma?"

Maddie blinked, then smiled in a manner only a mother knew how. Clara had her answer before it had even been spoken. "Yes, I have two darling children…"

"…do you love them?" Clara didn't give Maddie the time to recover, no less answer, before she spoke again. "Do… do you think momma remembers me? Misses me?"

Shock adorned her face and Clara was once more pulled into the embrace of the Ghost hunter. "Oh, my dear…"

No more was said than that, but the unspoken answer lingered.

_If she was a real mother, then of course she missed her. Of course she loved her. Death had no hold on love._

"Are you going to make me go back?"

The question caught Maddie off guard, though she knew instantly what the child was talking about. She shook her head almost immediately. "No…you aren't going to harm anything. Go see your mother… I'm sure she misses you dear."

A wide grin was met in response to the statement of acceptance and the ghost child launched herself at the older woman. "Thank you!"

Clara hugged the woman who had been her enemy mere moments ago, and sprinted off without another word.

"Mom?"

Maddie turned and saw her son, her dear Danny, as he stood there rubbing one eye to make sure he had not been seeing things no doubt. "Hm?"

"Did…did you just let that ghost go?"

She was silent for a moment before her lips quirked up in a small smile. "Yes… I suppose I did Danny."

"But… you hate ghosts… why?"

"I suppose…that's something only a mother would understand Danny." She sighed and softened. "The poor dear… such a young age to die."

She completely missed the look of twisted anguish and jealousy that her son sported, and instead turned to smile brightly at him. "I'm beginning to think differently about ghosts maybe…maybe."

"Yeah…sure mom." He glanced at the rising sun and shrugged. "Happy mothers day I guess. G'night."

"Good night Danny, I love you." Moments after she'd spoken, she could have sworn she heard a voice whisper in her ear.

"_But do you love __**all**__ of him?"_

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**A/N: A short little thing for mother's day. Hope you enjoyed the one-shot. It was painfully short I know, but it wasn't meant to be long. Its nothing more than a cute little mother-child fic.**

**-CherryBlossomLove**


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